The Definition of Beauty
by FredMischiefmanagedGeorge
Summary: Beauty is only a matter of opinion. Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition-Round 4, Tutshill Tornadoes


**A.N**

**Team: Tutshill Tornadoes**

**Position: Chaser 3**

**Writing about: an abstract noun (beauty)**

**Title: The Definition of Beauty**

**Words: 1,848 (Using doc manager before adding A.N)**

**Prompts used: 6. Conscious by Wilfred Owen, 7. bird, 9. "Your words create what you speak about. Learn to speak positively." Sanya Roman.****  
**

**(Prompts explained below)**

**For those of you innocent people who stumble upon this one-shot and are unaware of my speaking of Quidditch, teams and nonsense, it is alright! This is for a sort of contest on a forum and nothing that you aren't allowed to read, so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Characters and all other recognizable written words such as 'wand' belong to J.K Rowling. I have also taken some dialogue from _The Goblet of Fire. _So any recognizable content belongs to the author, J.K Rowling. I have also used poems which I have stated the authors name beside.**

* * *

_Beauty is only a matter of opinion_

* * *

Beauty was a word people did not treat lightly.

It was something girls everywhere wished to be called by the person they fancied. That boy down the street, or the one at school.

Hermione had never once been called beautiful.

Well, sure her parents had, her grandparents too! They had told her that constantly. Day after day. She did not agree with them.

Hermione's excuse was always the same,

"But, they're-they're family!"

It was when she was eight-years old, Hermione opened up the huge dictionary her parents kept in their tall wooden bookcases. She had reached up on her tippy-toes and pulled it out. Granted, it took almost a minute with all her grunting and pulling to get the heavy book down. When she finally got it, she hugged it to her chest, trotting away and over to the big couch in the living room.

She sat herself across it, opening up the dictionary and flipped through the pages.

Hermione was searching for the word 'ugly'. No one had ever said such a word to her before until a little boy called her that at school. She was quite curious as to what it meant. The other children had laughed at her. Hermione did not like being left in the dark and had raced home that day as soon as the bell rang, to find out this particular odd word.

She came to the 'u' section. It sound like the word, 'mug', except without the 'm' so she looked for the 'g' next to the 'u'. The third letter was an 'l'. The fourth letter sounded like an 'i', or was it an 'e'? There were two words in the dictionary that could match it. One was 'ugli' and another, 'ugly'.

Hermione read the 'ugli' definition aloud.

"Tangelo a large sweet juicy hybrid between tangerine and grapefruit having a thick wrinkled skin." she said. "That's odd. Why would Mickey call me a fruit?"

Hermione frowned, deciding to read the 'ugly' definition next.

"Unpleasant or repulsive, especially in appearance."

Hermione again frowned at the text. She knew what appearance meant, but not the other two words. She next looked up 'repulsive'.

It had been that night that Hermione had cried in her mother's arms for an hour. Her mother whispered that Hermione was in fact, beautiful. This time, unlike all the other times when her parents and grandparents had told her she was beautiful, Hermione did not believe them.

* * *

"You're a witch!" the woman said bright fully.

"Tha-that's rude!" Hermione exclaimed, tears forming. "Witches are ugly, ugly beasts! I don't want to be a witch!"

This odd woman dressed in equally odd bright blue clothing had appeared at her doorstep, holding a letter and a weird stick in hand.

"Are you calling me ugly?" the strange woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione turned red.

"No-I-"

The woman was in fact, quite pretty. She had nice long, wavy brown hair with bright blue eyes. Hermione studied her own hair, which was a bird's nest. It was bushy and had always been a pain to brush it every morning. Her mother had suggested cutting it short, but Hermione said no, knowing that it would be another thing the other children at school would make fun of her about. Though, she secretly hoped her hair would one day be smooth and pretty.

"Being a witch is quite different from what muggles believe." the woman went on to say. "You do not change in appearance, but rather, change in knowledge. You gain magical knowledge every year at this school. It has _nothing _to do with appearance"

A kind smile appeared on the woman's face. Hermione stared at her in wonder.

"So, what do you think? Do you wish to go?"

Hermione thought back to all the teasing and insulting remarks at her muggle school, she thought about how little friends she had. This could be a new start, a new way to make friends.

"I-I'd love to." she said.

* * *

"Your words create what you speak about. Learn to speak positively." Professor Lupin, the DADA teach instructed.

Hermione nodded to his words, preparing her wand as she aimed it at the dummy. She took the advice into account, calculating all the possible things that could go wrong with her spell. Hermione made sure not to do any of those things, repeating them over again and again in her mind.

The dummy started up and Professor Lupin watched her carefully. Hermione held her wand firmly before waving it as the incantation left her lips,

"Reducto!"

The spell hit the dummy and it became a pile of ashes. Hermione stared at it in surprise. She had gotten it right on her first try!

"Excellent job, Miss Granger! Ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Lupin said.

Hermione beamed at him.

She felt ecstatic! She had done it perfectly.

Hermione was smiling widely as she headed back to her desk beside Harry. Just as she sat down, Hermione heard the whisper. She heard the whisper that sent her heart plummeting.

"Teacher's pet." the voice hissed.

"No wonder she's so ugly." another voice added. "All she can attract is a librarian."

"Know-it-all." a third voice whispered.

Hermione didn't dare to look, acting as if she had not heard. She put her head down, biting her lip. As Hermione did so, she could see Ron on the other side of Harry, clench his fists while Harry's eyes flashed with anger.

A small trembling smile came onto her face as she covered it.

* * *

It was the first time in her life that Hermione felt beautiful. Her hair was smooth and done up in such a different way than usual. She could feel eyes flashing towards her as she had her arm in Krum's. Her cheeks flushed lightly. Spotting Harry and Pavarti, she greeted them.

"Hi Harry!" she said. "Hi Pavarti!"

She heard him mumble a greeting before turning towards Ron who was not standing too far away with Padma.

"Hi Ron-"

Ron brushed passed her, causing Hermione to bite her lip.

Moments quickly passed and Viktor Krum soon offered to get her drinks to which she agreed. As he left, Hermione searched for both Ron and Harry, feeling like she was on cloud nine. She spotted Pavarti leaving where Harry sat before taking her spot.

"Hi," Harry said.

When she sat, Hermione felt on fire. She had not realized how hot she felt, until now.

"It's hot, isn't it?" she asked, fanning herself. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks."

"_Viktor_?" Ron asked.

Hermione's head whirled towards him.

"Hasn't he asked you to call him _Vicky_ yet?" Ron said rudely.

Hermione stared at him in surprise. What was making him say that?

"What's up with you?" she asked.

Her cheeks flamed an exploding red.

The argument ensued and Hermione's eyes were tearing up at the end. She stalked away, brushing her eyes gently.

Things never seemed to go her way.

Even her best friend was ruining it.

* * *

Hermione sat on the checkered blanket, her head in the lap of her former best friend. This best friend had red hair, freckles and brown eyes.

It was none other than Ron Weasley.

The two had gone out to have a picnic to themselves upon a hill. Hermione held a book that Ron had bought for her earlier that day in her hand, reading it silently. A bird twittered about above, flapping its wings quickly, causing it to soar into the forest nearby.

Hermione turned the page.

Ron mumbled something which caused Hermione to look up.

"Hmm?"

"I-I-" Ron stuttered nervously.

This caused Hermione to sit up and cock her head to the side slightly. She frowned at him, causing Ron to turn red.

"You what?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Uh-oh! Look at page two hundred twenty-three of you book! Read the first sentence." Ron instructed.

"Ok-" Hermione flipped through the book, "why?"

"Just read it, then it will all make sense." Ron told her.

Hermione found the page and read the first line in her head. She then looked up at Ron, once again frowning.

"Are you sure this is right?" Hermione asked him.

Ron nodded.

"Now read it aloud."

"Alright." Hermione said.

She licked her lips before speaking.

"His fingers wake, and flutter; up the bed. His eyes come open with a pull of will-"

"Wait!" Ron shouted.

Hermione looked up, casting him a slight look of annoyance.

"What? I was reading it, wasn't I?" she asked.

"It was the wrong one." Ron said sheepishly.

Hermione rolled her eyes and smiled at him before holding out the book for Ron to take. Ron took it from her hands and opened the book, searching for the right page. Finally, Ron flipped to three hundred and twenty-three.

"Here," he said. "I found it."

Hermione took the book from his hands and began to read.

"In less than hour

Since last time I saw you here

Many thoughts came by

More than just predictions

That someday from now on

We may romantically involve

In our depth love affair

Continuously unbroken

Would you take the part?

To be my lover all your life

The time will change me a bit

But hopefully not my heart

And I don't want to hear a no

'Cause I left all my life before now

To show you that you're the only one

I ever got left to live

Love me now and tomorrow

And the next day, and the other days

Until we get old, after we die

And in our graves, I'll love you always. Alex Chriss"

Hermione read the ending slowly, looking up at Ron. He was no longer sitting beside her, but now pulling her up to stand. Hermione stayed quiet the whole time, with wide eyes.

Ron held Hermione's hands in his as he kneeled.

"Hermione, will you marry me?" Ron asked, taking a ring out of his pocket.

Hermione's hands went to her face, tears filling up her eyes. She couldn't believe it! She, Hermione, the ugliest girl on the planet, was being asked for her hand in marriage by the most handsome man.

A minute passed and Ron's face began to fall. Did she not want to marry him then? Was she not ready? Had he ruined their relationship?

As he thought those thoughts, he was thrown to the ground by a large weight. Ron stared wide-eyed up at Hermione.

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed.

Ron grinned up at her and placed a kiss on her lips. Then he sat up and held Hermione's hands.

"You know Hermione, you are the most beautiful girl in the world." he said.

"You're only saying that because I said yes." Hermione accused.

"No, I'm serious!" Ron exclaimed. "I was considering the proposal idea of putting your picture in the dictionary under the word 'beauty'."

* * *

**A.N So here we go. I agree, not my best work, but hey, I did it! I should get an award. *places a badge on my shirt* THERE!**

**So yes, Ron proposes to Hermione. I made points in her life where she may have felt beautiful/ugly.**

**For the word 'beauty', it is a concept, an idea and a feeling. It is the idea of excluding certain people and placing them into labelled groups. However, beauty is a matter of opinion more so than it is a fact. It can also be a feeling as put above at the Yule Ball scene.**

**So, prompts being explained:**

******6. Conscious by Wilfred Owen: I used this where Hermione flipped to the wrong page of the book. She started to say the beginning words. I honestly didn't know where to put this as it didn't seem to fit that much. However, I personally patted myself on the back when I came up with the idea.**

******7. bird: This is when they are lying down on the blanket and a bird soars by. I was going to write it as Hermione thinking about the meaning of beauty. That didn't end up happening, as you can see.**

******9. "Your words create what you speak about. Learn to speak positively." Sanya Roman: Remus lupin says that as they use spells in DADA.**

**So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Cheers,**

**Lupe**


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